Why does the River Dee catchment need a management plan?
The high quality of the River Dee catchment’s water resources gives it great value - as a habitat for wildlife, for drinking water, as a recreational environment, as a basis for tourism and salmon fishing, and as a central asset underpinning much of the rural economy.
How we use and manage the catchment affects the quality of its surface and groundwaters and therefore in order to balance these increasing and often competing demands there is a need to understand the needs and impacts associated with different uses of the catchment. To achieve this, the River Dee catchment management plan is being developed to ensure that the catchment’s water resources are used in a wise and sustainable way.
The plan is concerned with land management practices that may impact on the quality of the water environment in the River Dee catchment. This environment encompasses the natural water resources, such as rivers, burns and lochs, as well as riverine habitats such as wetlands and riparian areas, and also the species they support.
The purpose of developing this document is to agree a strategic framework for how the catchment will be managed in the future. This will help to ensure that everyone - from individual householders and farmers to government agencies - is working to a common plan. To achieve this will require catchment-wide input from all of the individuals, organisations and agencies involved.